Mexico City

Earlier this month, we made our first trip to Mexico City.  In years past, I think we were intimidated by the idea of it – one of the largest cities in the world, reputed to be crowded and overwhelming.  But, as we have spent time in, and now lived in, Mexico for many years, and have also traveled to many large cities throughout the world, we instead became interested in, and then excited about visiting the capitol city of the country we reside in.

A few facts about Mexico City, per Wikipedia:

• Population of the city itself — 9,209,944
• Population of the metropolitan area — 21,804,515
• 6^th largest metropolitan area in the world
• 2^nd largest urban area in the Western Hemisphere
• Largest Spanish-speaking city in the world
• Oldest capitol city in the Americas – founded in 1325 by the Aztecs as Tenochtitlan

What we found was a modern city with an abundance of art, restaurants, history, and busy but friendly people.  During this visit we only visited Centro, but we will likely be back through on other travels and will explore more of Centro and other areas over time.

On this visit we arrived early in the evening on a Monday, and left Friday morning, with three full days for exploration.  As is typical for us and our travel style, we do not hurry through an exhaustive (and exhausting) list of things to see and accomplish; we enjoy seeing things at a slower pace and try to get a feel for what a place is like by walking around, looking at some sights, and eating.

Here is a summary of the three primary days of our trip, with pictures:

Day 1

After breakfast in our Airbnb, we set out to explore the city on foot.  We generally followed a walking tour from the book Mexico City:  An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler by Jim Johnston.

While heading toward the main Zocolo (square) we came upon a sculpture garden with an exhibit by Dali and Rodin:

We then continued toward the square walking by many interesting buildings:

Once we arrived at the square, we found that it was mostly blocked off – they were setting up for some type of Christmas fair.  We did manage to see a few things, but we will need to see the square in it’s open-spaced grandeur, being one of the largest such squares in the world, another time.

On the way back towards our Airbnb we stopped at the main location of Sanborn’s, a department store chain.  While Kevin used the restroom, I snapped a photo of the Orozco mural above it:

We had a delicious and inexpensive lunch at Café El Popular (another guidebook recommendation), had some rest and relaxation time at our Airbnb, and then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant (Kevin enjoyed his dinner more than I did, mine was nothing special).

Day 2

We spent our second day following part of another walking tour recommended in our guidebook.

We started with a walk and some shopping in the small Chinatown:

We next did a lot of window shopping, and some looking around in but not buying, on a street filled with kitchen stores.  It is common in Mexico for stores of a particular type to be grouped on the same block or street.  We finished our walk at a local market, and then reversed course back to Chinatown for lunch.  Other than buffets they are no Chinese restaurants that we know if in Guanajuato, so even though it was standard Chinese food it was a treat for us

After resting and relaxing in our Airbnb, we headed to La Opera for dinner.  I had noted this famous restaurant and bar from a travel show we had watched at some point; it was also recommended in both of our guidebooks (Jim Johnston’s and the Lonely Planet Travel Guide to Mexico).  The atmosphere, service, and food were all outstanding.  In my view this place is a must-visit in Mexico City, at least for drinks but I also recommend the food.

Day 3

For our final full day in Mexico City, we walked to Templo Mayor, the main Aztec temple.  The museum was closed that day, but we were able to see some of the ruins:

After a stop back at our room, we went to lunch at a great restaurant in Alameda Park, the oldest park in the Americas:

After lunch, we visited the Museo Nacional de Arte (the Mexican National Art museum).  The collection dates from the mid-1500s through approximately the 1980s.  Most of Mexico’s more famous artists have museums fully dedicated to their art; this museum’s focus was more on telling the story of Mexico from “New Spain” through modern times through each time-period’s art.

As is typical for us, by our last night we had spent enough time eating out and were ready to stay in; that is one of the reasons we enjoy staying in Airbnb’s or somewhere similar with cooking facilities.  We made a simple dinner with leftovers and some groceries from our condo-complex grocery store and watched Thursday Night Football.